Corrections officers vote for union at Montgomery County Prison

LOWER PROVIDENCE — The third union drive in the past three years succeeded at the Montgomery County Prison Dec. 16 when corrections officers voted to bring in Teamsters Local 384 to represent them.

“On 12/16/13 the teamsters union won the vote fair and square, but that’s only half the battle,” a corrections officer who spoke to The Times Herald for a previous article on condition of anonymity wrote in an e-mail. “Now we’re going to have to sit and wait for them to negotiate a contract before we see any kind of raise. Only time will tell if this union will be beneficial for us. I’m glad everything is over with. I think some of the tension between staff was relieved even though not everyone is satisfied with the outcome. I personally feel that some of those that did vote union will see later on it’s not the better choice.”

In several media reports regarding the latest unionization drive, anonymous sources made claims that pay and benefits were being cut. There were even claims that officers would use the trash cans at the end of the halls of the prison to relieve themselves.

Now that the officers have voted to bring in the union, however, they are excluded from the 1.5 percent pay raise given to non-union county employees under the 2014 county budget approved this week by the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. The officers will also be ineligible for the 1.5 percent merit bonus that will be offered to non-union employees.

The corrections officers are currently without a contract, and a timetable for the negotiations has been set.

If, in the future, the corrections officers feel the union is not holding their best interests or does not negotiate a contract they like, they will be able to file for a decertification petition which would effectively fire Teamsters Local 384.

The union will represent the 233 correctional officers that work at facility. The Dec. 16 vote was the third attempt to get a union for the officers in the prison. Votes in 2011 and 2012 failed to unionize the officers. The 233 corrections officers employed at the facility now join 438 other county employees who are represented by unions.

“Montgomery County correctional officers voted loud and clear that they wanted Teamster representation on the job,” Bill Hamilton, Teamsters International vice president and president of the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, said in a press release. “We have a strong track record for giving law enforcement employees a voice on the job and we are proud to add the Montgomery County Correctional Facility officers to our membership.”

“The victory in Montgomery County speaks to our union’s commitment to support the men and women who serve and protect our communities,” Michael Filler, Teamsters Public Services Division director, said in a press release. “It also reaffirms the decision made earlier this month by the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters to establish a Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers Association as an important voice for uniformed and non-uniformed personnel at the local, county and state level.”